Actions that ordinary people can take to reduce their contributions to global warming are becoming ever-more widely known, and are being put into practice by more and more people.  More people are choosing energy-saving lightbulbs, these days.  Large SUVs are declining in popularity, while fuel-efficient cars are experiencing a small boom.  And then, finally, more people are choosing to air-dry their clothing.

Electric dryers consume about 6% of the electricity used by Americans.  Drying your laundry on a clothesline is one of the simplest and most effective measures you can take to reduce your "carbon footprint."  And yet, those who choose to air-dry sometimes encounter an obstacle: neighborhood associations don't like to see laundry blowing in the wind.  Apparently it looks unsightly, and has potential to decrease property values.  That's right, you heard me: no one objects to gas-guzzling motorized lawnmowers that fill the days of summer with a ceaseless droning that makes it singularly difficult to enjoy the outdoors; but air-drying your laundry is a no-go.  Could these homeowners' associations have their values mixed up?

Enter people like Susan Taylor, of Bend, Oregon, whose story has appeared recently in blogs and local papers, and even on the front page of the Wall Steet Journal.  Ms Talyor has asserted that she has a "right to dry" her laundry outdoors, as a means of combating global warming and environmental destruction.  The neighbors don't like it, but she is pushing to change the rules against clotheslines in her subdivision.  You can read the full Wall Street Journal article http://activerain.com/blogsview/211476/The-Right-to-Dry  Maybe the neighborhood should replace the rule against clotheslines with a restriction on gas-powered lawn mowers?

Bend, Oregon recently signed onto the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, thereby pledging to become a Cool City.  But how "cool" is a city where residents are not allowed to take simple measures that would help curb global warming?  The results of Ms Taylor's struggle could have implications for other communities in this state and others.  Want to help?  Send an email to Liz O'Connell, Land Use Chair of the Awbrey Buttes Neighborhood Association (the association for Ms Taylor's neighborhood), at hoodawbrey@yahoo.com.  CC Bend Mayor Bruce Abernethy at babernethy@ci.bend.or.us.  Let's show these people the environmental revolution is to be taken seriously!

-Nick